A mainstay West Coast fishery is now certified sustainable after diminished stocks 14 years ago forced the federal government to declare a disaster.

The Marine Stewardship Council announced today in Portland that 13 groundfish species caught by West Coast trawler fishermen will be designated sustainable.

The decision will likely make the fishery more marketable.

The MSC certified its first rockfish species and a skate species as sustainable among other types of bottom-dwelling fish.

Fishermen, fishery managers, the Environmental Defense Fund and federal agencies established the Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program in 2011 to rejuvenate groundfish stocks.

“We’ve changed and adapted a lot in the last 10 to 15 years or more and the fishery has changed a lot,” said Paul Kujala, Warrenton commissioner for the Oregon Trawl Commission and captain of the Cape Windy. “We’re getting some recognition for that.”

Inside the Industry

SeaShare, a non-profit organization that facilitates donations of seafood to feed the hungry, announced on Wednesday, July 29 that it had partnered up with Alaska seafood companies, freight companies and the Coast Guard, to coordinate the donation and delivery of 21,000 pounds of halibut to remote villages in western Alaska.

On Wednesday, the Coast Guard loaded 21,000 pounds of donated halibut on its C130 airplane in Kodiak and made the 634-mile flight to Nome.

NEFMC trawl survey AP deadline approaches

The New England Fishery Management Council is soliciting applications for seats on the Northeast Trawl Survey Advisory Panel and the deadline to apply is July 31 at 5:00 p.m.

The panel will consist of 16 members including members of the councils and the Atlantic States Fishery Commission, industry experts, non-federal scientists and Northeast Fisheries Science Center scientists. Panel members are expected to serve for three years.

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National Fisherman has been the industry standard for over 50 years. Readers from coast to coast depend on it to stay up to date on news, regulations, fish stocks, to research purchasing decisions and to stay informed of the newest vessel and product technology.